Something for Pepper
by Mae Stark
Summary: Tony gives Pepper something of her own, something better than she ever expected. One shot, Pepperony


**So I don't like this idea at all, but I decided to run with it anyway. **

**I don't own anything in here at all. I do, however, own a t-shirt with an arc reactor printed across the chest. It glows in the dark. AWESOME.**

**Speaking of awesome, did anyone see Robert Downey Jr. on the Golden Globes a few nights ago? He was funny! But Ricky Gervais was a little below-the-belt with his comments. Poor Robert. Do you think he gets upset when people mention his past?**

**Anyway, enough of my babbling, on with the fic!**

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Something for Pepper

He was flying over the state of Arizona, on his way to meet Nick Fury in Oklahoma when she called him. Tony noticed the ping flash across his HUD, and answered it. Before he could say anything, Pepper was already yelling.

"Where do you think you're going? Get back here, right this minute! We still have to go over that speech, and all of this paperwork is stacked up here for you to sign, you have received three emails from the Secretary of Defense that you have yet to even open, and that board meeting later –" She paused from her rant to take a breath, and Tony used the opportunity to speak.

"Pep, calm down. Everything is fine." He reassured her.

"No, it is not. I have enough to deal with without having to worry about you." Her tone had softened a bit, like it always did when she talked about him, but he could tell that the exasperation was still there.

"You need a break from all this. Come with me."

Tony could almost hear Pepper rolling her eyes. "Right, Tony. I don't know if you realized, but Oklahoma is not the best place to take a vacation."

"Well, we don't have to go there. We can go anywhere you want."

"Okay, so let me just drop everything here. I'll just jump on a plane with you." The biting sarcasm in her voice made him flinch.

"That's not what I meant." Tony said quietly.

He heard a sigh from the other end. "I'm sorry, Tony," Pepper apologized. "I'm just really stressed out right now and I want you here with me. I love you."

Tony smiled. "I love you too."

There was a moment of silence, and Tony thought maybe the call had been dropped, but then he heard Pepper's steady breathing through the receiver. Well, now was as good a time as ever. "Pepper. I need you to go down to the basement and check on something for me." He said suddenly.

There was a pause, and then a reluctant reply. "Okay," she said, "But it better be quick." He smirked. She really had no idea. The sound of her heels tapping as she walked across the concrete floor filled Tony's ears, and he knew that it wouldn't be long now. She was almost down there, and then she would see it. He put the suit on autopilot and waited.

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When Pepper entered her code at the glass door and entered Tony's workshop, she gasped. She felt the clipboard slide out of her hand and clatter to the floor. Never in a million years would she have expected this.

Displayed in front of her was a suit. But unlike Tony's, it was unmistakably female. She was tall and slim, the metal curving around her body in intricate, delicate patterns. Instead of Tony's standard red and gold, she was red and silver. In the place where Tony's arc reactor normally fit, there was her own arc reactor, built deep into the metal. Pepper reached out and touched the cool metal, feeling the familiar circular indentation in the chest.

She was stunned. Pepper knew that Tony had to have worked on this for months, planning and welding and testing. She was honored that he would do all that, just to provide her with a sense of power and protection. It was the single sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her.

She vaguely heard Tony, speaking to her through the phone at her side. Lifting it to her ear once again, she heard him call her name. "Pepper?"

"Mmmhmm?" she barely managed to mumble.

"Do you like it?" His voice is meek and hesitant.

Pepper smiled, the grin spreading across her face. "Yes, Tony." She whispered.

As Pepper did a circle around the suit, her suit, Tony continued to talk. "I know you're tired of being helpless. And I'm sorry I can't always be there when you need me. But I promise that you will never have to be in that position again." Tony's words sparked a memory in her.

Pepper remembered the dark December night, coming home to find the men waiting for her. It happened so fast, there was no time to react or cry out. She remembered waiting, crouched in the dirty, dark room, bound and gagged, waiting for Tony. He had gotten her out of there unharmed, but the traumatizing memory still haunted her and fueled her nightmares. Yes, she didn't want that to happen again. And here Tony had given her a suit, something to protect her when he wasn't there to do it himself.

And besides that, she would be able to save _him _if the situation required. She loathed the feeling of being helpless, moping around the mansion as she waited for him to return from a mission. Now she would be able to do something to help when everything went wrong. If there was one thing she hated, it was being a powerless little female, left behind at home while he went out and risked his life to save people he didn't even know.

Tony's deep voice disrupted her reflection. "Well, what do you say? Want to come with me? We can fly anywhere you want to go."

Pepper thought about this for a minute. "Tony, I have so much to do. The paperwork and meetings and emails –"

"Pepper," Tony interrupted. "Pep, just come."

She could hear the yearning in his voice, and could practically see his expressive brown eyes widening, pleading. Sighing, she conceded. "Okay."

"Just step onto the platform. Jarvis will do the rest." His tone was pleased and triumphant.

Removing her heels, Pepper stepped onto the raised metal grating and waited. "Jarvis?"

The calm, accented voice came from somewhere above her head. "Yes, Miss Potts?"

"Suit me up." There was a gleam in her eye as the robotic arms began to move, assembling the suit around her at a rapid pace. As the metal came down over her eyes, she knew what she was getting into. And she looked forward to it.

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**I don't like the idea of Pepper having a suit, but this just came to me. I don't know what happened to make me even consider this. But hey, maybe you like it anyway? Please review and let me know what you thought**.


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